THE OAKLEAF PROJECT WAS A COOPERATIVE STUDY OF THE PROBLEMS INVOLVED IN MAKING PROVISION FOR INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF REGULAR SCHOOL OPERATIONS. THE OAKLEAF ELEMENTARY SCHOOL IN SUBURBAN PITTSBURGH WAS USED AS A LABORATORY FOR THE DEVELOPMENT AND TRIAL OF A PROGRAM FOR INDIVIDUALLY PRESCRIBED INSTRUCTION (IPI). THE IPI…

Traditional educational design methods take little account of individual learner's needs and learning processes. Effective design involves overcoming internal forces that oppose the educator's learning goals. Self-directed learning principles and practices work selectively with the learner's own needs and motives, strengthening confidence and…

The Regents External Degree Program of the University of the State of New York, Thomas A. Edison College, and the Board for State Academic Awards of Connecticut are external degree institutions serving new functions in American higher education. Without admissions requirements, they are making higher education available to many who could not…

Describes a new high school physics option in Great Britain which uses the model of a technological approach to the study of materials. Discusses the components of the program, including the development of a student book for independent learning and six case studies. Provides a case study about turbine blades. (TW)

Medical students interviewed a simulated patient who presented one of five main complaints, and the interview was videotaped. Postintervention interviews conducted by students in two groups that used the self-instruction videotape received significantly higher ratings than those in the control group. (Author/MLW)

Describes how teachers manage multitask classroom activities by defining teacher and student work cycles, sorting students into attention categories by assessing their work daily, and providing assistance to students according to need. Includes figures illustrating student's and teacher's work cycles and the three levels of classroom decision…

Evaluates the new paradigm of learning and discusses its principles of context, process, individualization, and community. This method allows for the instruction of the full range of learners in a classroom because the emphasis is on learning how to learn and learning as a process. (NKA)

The Accelerated Christian Education (ACE) Program offers students in 5,000 schools a complete curriculum for all grade levels that stresses Christian values and American patriotism through structured individual packets, which allow each student to work at his or her own pace. Evaluates social studies units for grades 7 to 11. References included.…

Discusses safety concerns related to independent study projects at both school and off-campus sites. Provides questions to evaluate and manage student projects and cites important procedural steps to promote student safety, enhance educational return, and limit teacher liability.

Describes an authoring language created specifically for composing computer-assisted language drills. Students can receive written or visual cues, edit their answers, and summon additional information using the Macintosh microcomputer's pull-down menus and multiple windows. (Author/SED)

The college teacher can develop his or her own teaching and communication skills by becoming familiar with the literature on recommended teaching communication behaviors, making use of the internal and external resources, and practicing. (MSE)

Pairs of undergraduate students were instructed to engage in metacognitive activities, elaborative activities, or neither while listening to prose passages. Results of a recall test suggested that metacognitive activity facilitated cooperative learning, while elaborative activity transferred to a later individual learning activity. (Author/GDC)

Describes an evaluation of the added value of skills methods for preventing smoking with sixth-grade students from two schools. Skills conditions subjects learned problem-solving, self-instruction, and interpersonal communication methods. The article discusses the strengths, limits, and implications of the study for other smoking prevention…

Discusses procedures used to evaluate the instructional effectiveness of materials and methods implemented in a self-paced college credit course in library skills. A description of the course and assessment strategies used--multiple-choice assignments, end-of-course test, an attitudinal survey--are included. Twelve references are cited.…

Microcomputers are advocated as a primary teaching tool for independent and correspondence study, provided suitable software is available and consideration is given to initial student attitudes, peculiarities in computer communication, and the low predictive power of psychological tests in computer-based learning. (Author/MSE)